Bobbyb3 Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 From where you stopped over yesterday, I ordered the rest of the pieces I needed for the pluming. You talked about needing a carbon filter I will need. If you could show me a link to a style I will need. Here is our updated budget. Stand $150 overflow $100 sump $40 pumps $123 piping $50 Total $463 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbyb3 Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 Do I need the light in before we start curing? I was looking at http://floridaliverock.com/live-rock-sand/live-sand/and it seems they do 30 lb special would that be to much for my tank? I can get one of their Premium Coralline Rock 30 lb when we are ready. What all salt supplies do I need when we start curing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted December 16, 2015 Author Share Posted December 16, 2015 When you quarantine (aka "cure") the live rock you do not need a lot of light but it should have some, you don't want to keep it in complete darkness. You may get live coral colonies and in that case you may want to put some decent lights on it. How much live rock you get is largly an aesthetic decision, you certainly do not need to go by "lbs per gallon" rule. You do need to get some though, the best way to get the beneficial sponges and other organisms essential for a healthy reef ecosystem is with quality maricultured or wild collected live rock. And pay attention to how it's shipped, rock that is air frieghted is best. (Some live rock is sent in shiping containers and is going to be pretty worthless.) I've seen pretty good survival with maricutured rock from Florida with one or two day shipping but obviously overnight is best if you're willing to pay the extra shipping costs. When you quarantine it you will want ot go over it a day or two after you get it to scrub off any dying stuff and along with periodic water changes check it for any thing unique you may want to put extra effort in keeping and to look for unwanted pests. This latter issue is one of my pet peeves about people saying not to use maricutlured or wild rock. For starters, of all the pests I've run into over the years, Krakon or Bobbit worms, Aiptasia and Mojano anemonies, Mantis Shrimp, etc, most have been introduced by stuff I've gotten from other aquarists and by far the one that has cost me far, far more grief, time and loss of other tank inhabitants are the various color varieties of the $&%@!% Bubble Tip Anemone. Sponges are essential to reef ecosystems and the best way by far is with quality maricultured or wild collected rock. Everything that goes into a display tank needs to be quarantined, setting up a small or medium sized quarintine tank from the getgo should be a high priority and starting with live rock is a logical first step. Lastly the quarintine process for maricultured and wild live rock is typically not a pretty process and gives a new aquarist a valuable opportunity to experience some of the biological processes that occur in less than ideal situations without the associated risk of valuable livestock and, if they test frequently, to see how water parameters can fluctuate and can go from the initial less than ideal to very good. Since the sand also is wild collected I would add it as well to your quarintine tank with the live rock. With cured live rock and some water form another system I would be happy with just a few pounds. If cost wasn't an issue I would use all live sand but we are trying to keep this on a budget and depending on the cost of the sand and shipping costs 30 lbs is more than adequite but you could forgo it all together if you wanted to spend the money on lights. If you use dry sand make sure it's calcium based and does not contain any silica sand or other impurities that can cause algae problems or worse. How much you use is largly aesthetics also (I prefer just a thin layer of 1mm sized sand myself) but there is a lot of valuable "biology" that goes on in sand so I would recommend at least getting some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbyb3 Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 OK then I might get less Live rock from them and small bag of sand from a shop, because it seems a lot comes down to the light is a big key. I will need your help on the light. It looks like a lot of them if you get a cheaper one needs other ones to go with it. I wasn't sure if there is just a good one light that hits all the different colors / spectrums I need? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbyb3 Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 Last pieces of the piping came in tonight. Third time in a week that I got something coming through UPS that it got delivered down the street. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted December 20, 2015 Author Share Posted December 20, 2015 Sounds like UPS just doesn't like you! Lighting is going to be a bit of a challenge. I like BuildMyLED's fixtures for several reasons; they have the best $ per watt per PAR ratios of any light I've looked at, they do not need fans which is the biggest problem I've seen with LEDs, they have a low profile that would work very well for your set up. But with just over $500 left in our budget just one 5'er is going to use up pretty much the rest of it. Even the cheap chinese knockoffs have a good mix of LEDs now so they are going to be a cheaper option. DIY is a possibility if you feel like putting extra work into building the fixtures and it would be easier to have multiple fixtures for redundancy if one fixture has problems. Used is an option also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted January 3, 2016 Author Share Posted January 3, 2016 Websites I like to get led parts from are below. When I'm putting stuff together it seems like I always get stuff from different sites but each of these sites have all the parts needed to make a custom fixture and some have DIY kits and fixtures also MPJA.com They have 10 watt LEDS for just $3 and DC power supplies that can be set to the operating voltage of the leds and CPU heat sinks so a DIY a 80 watt LED cannon can be made for about $60 RapidLED.com LEDSupply.com LEDgroupbuy.com stevesleds.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbyb3 Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 So for my tank how many will I need to build? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted January 8, 2016 Author Share Posted January 8, 2016 Hmmm, kinda depends on corals, layout and how we design the fixture. Let me get some PAR readings of some of my DIY fixtures and we can start figuring our what will work well for your setup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbyb3 Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 I have been meaning to post this. I have got the dry fitting done. Just need to wait for our next meeting to set the finial height for the returns and drain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbyb3 Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 I was wondering if I could use a lot of holey holy rock. I see a lot of freshwater tanks but no pics in a saltwater tank. So I am wondering if corral grow on it? I like the way it look with all the tunnels. I see people calling it limestone and saying it's not porrus. But because limestone is so porrus it's how under ground caves are formed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted January 22, 2016 Author Share Posted January 22, 2016 Plumbing looks good. I like being able to run hte drain straight to the sump. I've been using lots of local limestone flagstone and honeycomb rock in my tanks since i first started keeping saltwater in the '80s. I definitely would get some quality maricultured (cultured in the open ocean) or wild collected live rock to get the beneficial organisims you can't really get any other way, sponges being at the top of the list. But you only need to get a few quality pieces to seed your system since we're on a budget. The following pictures are a 500 gallon that was set up with 120 lbs of fresh wild collected fiji liverock and roughly 250-300 lbs of local stone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbyb3 Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 I didn't make it out to my friends area this weekend that said he had that rock but my son goes to a school close to a landscape supply. I found this there for $9. It will probably need a little work but looks like a nice piece and has a few tunnels. It was 85 lb. Also thanks for the help getting everything glued up on Friday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted February 2, 2016 Author Share Posted February 2, 2016 What a cool rock! First thing that popped into my head was a bunch of different zoanthiids. Just hose it off really good, I wouldn't bother doing an acid bath. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbyb3 Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 Hosed it off a few times. I need to try to get a littlemore dirt out of the holes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbyb3 Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 I have been looking all over for these because everyone says they work great for vibration reduction on the pumps. Though I have not seen them at HEB for Walmart. Would these work just as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted February 16, 2016 Author Share Posted February 16, 2016 The first picture looks like a silicone hot pad and they do work great for absorbing vibrations. I have some bright red square ones I think I got from HEB. They'll be in different styles depending on the store but any of them will work. The beaded foam "drawer" pad will work also but it floats really well and I've had them float away before getting pumps set on them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbyb3 Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 Also I tried to order that light but the link takes you to it. Though when I hit order says it is out of stock and looks like no one else sales it. Witch might be a sign. Is there another light I should look at or would something like a t5 hybrid be good? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbyb3 Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 I am also trying to figure out where the rock looks the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted February 23, 2016 Author Share Posted February 23, 2016 I love that rock! I'm inclined to position it in front of the overflow but more to the left so the right edge of the rock is even with the right edge of the overflow. It would be really cool looking covered with half a dozen different kinds of zoas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbyb3 Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 Yeah that meeting at Ty's really got me motivated again. Right after I picked another 140 lbs of honeycomb rock and then spent the night washing it all. As we have talked the last few days I have ordered the light. You said you would let me know all the kits I need to get and it was instant ocean right for the salt? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbyb3 Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 We talked this evening about putting rods in the rocks. Is there a particular rod that works best? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted March 11, 2016 Author Share Posted March 11, 2016 When drilling rock mostly I use 1/2 CPVC. Next most common is 1" grey PVC. I've also used 1/4" grey PVC, fiberglass rod, acrylic rod and solid PVC rods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted March 11, 2016 Author Share Posted March 11, 2016 TEST KITS There's some debate over what to test and especially what test kits to use and I wanted to go over what I test for and use. For starters there's been a couple informal comparison tests that show most kits are fairly reliable and highlights how individual perception or preference can give variable results. http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2012/6/chemistry DFMAS TestKitAnalysis.pdf The list of parameters I test for weekly are: Alkalinity pH Salinity Temperature Parameters I test for less frequently, monthly to quarterly depending on history of the tank and how ALL things are growing (not just most looking good): Magnesium Nitrate Phosphate (inorganic) Calcium Parameters I basically never test for: Ammonia Nitrite Iodine Strontium Redox/ORP Silicate Which test kits and/or test equipment is really up to you. Looking at the two comparison studies above and what people have posted there's obviously an element of personal preference. It certainly would be advantageous to get with other aquarists to try out different kits to see what you find easiest and most reliable to use. Most reagents now have expiration dates (wasn't always the case) but I always replace my kits yearly anyway. I also compare new kits/reagents with old kits/reagents to make sure there's no difference between them and I haven't gotten some bad reagent or the color standard hasn't changed. And it never hurts to occasionally double check them against someone else's test kits or preferably a test standard especially if you get what seems to you screwy or inconsistent readings. Definitely keep a record of your readings (I also take pictures to track progress) The test kits and brands I use are: Alkalinity: API pH: API Temp: Cheapo floating glass thermometers (I use these mostly so urchins have something to play with) and a cheap hand held infrared thermometer. Salinity: Mostly a cheap refractometer but I also have float type hydrometers. Magnesium: Red Sea Nitrate: Mostly Nyos as it is a little more sensitive in the 0-10 mg/l range than API which I used to use. For low range I use Red Sea. Phosphate: API for above .5 mg/l and Elos for low range. Calcium: API How frequently you test is going to invariably change over time. Initially I would encourage you to test everything I test for plus Ammonia at least weekly. This will let you know how your initial "cycle" is progressing. (I think it's important to point out here "Cycling" a tank is very different from a system "Maturing".) It will also help you develop an "eye" for how your animals are reacting to changes in water parameters. If you're like me and many other aquarist you'll be inclined to start useing the "eyeball" test almost exclusively. A word of warning though, corals can adapt to conditions that could be fatal to new introductions. The parameters I test for weekly or monthly is because over time I've been unhappily surprised lack of growth or a problem is because a basic water parameter has drifted. This is getting a little long so I'll go over acceptable ranges for parameters as well as the difference between "Cycling" and "Maturing" in additional posts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbyb3 Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 Stand 150 overflow 100 sump 40 pumps 123 piping 50 dry rock 25 light and timer 153 Instant Ocean 45 RO/DI SpectraPure 90 Refurb 148 Total 834 Here is the budget update. As we talked about the RO/DI is $148 after shipping so leaves us $170 right now. still need to price out all the test kits. Then I get back from my training on the 9th and really start kicking it off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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